Afghan women burn themselves to death to be heard

27 April 2004 — 10:00pm

Six months ago, after being bullied by her in-laws, Mallali Nurzi, 26, soaked herself in petrol and struck a match. By the time the fire was extinguished, Mallali was burnt all over. It took her 24 hours to die.

"Her husband's family were treating her like an animal," said her father, Nazir Shah.

"Every minute of every day, she was fetching water, growing crops, looking after animals and children, cleaning the house. She was patient, but it was too much for her. She found it hard to live like a slave."

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Ms Nurzi was not alone in her suffering, nor in the agonising way she chose to die. Anecdotal evidence suggests several hundred young women are burning themselves to death every year in western Afghanistan.

A government inquiry in Herat, the biggest city in the country's west, reported that at least 52 young, married, or soon-to-be married women had burnt themselves to death in recent months. The youngest was a 13-year-old engaged girl. Most of the women were educated and included nurses and teachers.

"In our culture, women have always burned themselves, because they have always been so badly treated," said Amina Safi Afzali, of the Afghan Human Rights Commission. "But this phenomenon was never as prevalent as it is today."

Behind the increase, Ms Afzali says, is a disillusionment felt by many educated Afghan women because the two years since the fall of the Taliban have brought precious little freedom.

"There are many more pressures on young Afghan women today because they have learned what freedom is from radio and television, but that is not what they have.

"In the past, every girl knew she belonged to her family; she existed only for her father and her husband; she knew she wasn't free. Now young girls know they should have rights, and they are prepared to burn themselves to show society that they do not have them yet."

The country's constitution gives equal rights to men and women. But despite an increase in the number of girls in school, most Afghan women enjoy no more rights than they did under the Taliban. Most of the country is not controlled by the government but by warlords as misogynistic as the Taliban.

The deputy Women's Minister, Suraya Sobah Rang, said: "Women in this country are in a very bad situation, with forced marriages, families selling their daughters to pay drug debts, women being beaten all the time. We have to change these things."